(Eurasian) Bullfinch

Female: Like the male, but brown back and pinkish-fawn underparts and cheeks.

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The Bullfinch is a quiet, secretive but heavily built finch that usually spends its time among the
branches and dense undergrowth of woodlands.

Both sexes have a stout black bill, black wings, nape, crown and chin, and
a white rump, under-tail coverts and wing-bar. The tail is slightly forked
and the legs are brown.

The handsome male has a blue-grey back and bright rose-pink breast, belly and
cheeks.

The female has a brown back and pinkish-fawn underparts.

The juveniles are like the adult female, but do not have black caps.

In the winter, our resident population can be joined by "northern"
Bullfinches from northern Europe. These are slightly larger and heavier and much
less shy than our own Bullfinch, and the male has a more intense pink breast and
very pale grey upperparts.

Close-up

Juvenile

Scientific Name

Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Length

14-16 cm (6")

Wing Span

22-29 cm (9-12")

Weight

27-38 g (1-1½oz)

Breeding Pairs

190000

Present

All Year

Status

Amber

Voice

In keeping with its quiet nature, the Bullfinch's song is a quiet warble.
However, you are more likely to hear its call, which is a piped
"phew".

Feeding

Bullfinches usually feed on insects, berries, seeds (e.g. dock, nettle,
bramble, ash,
birch, honesty), and buds - its
liking for the latter has made enemies of some gardeners and fruit growers.

When they visit the garden they usually take seed from a hanging seed
feeder or suet cake.

Nesting

Bullfinches usually nest in shrubs or bushes, such as blackthorn and
hawthorn, in woodland, orchards or
agricultural farmland. The nest, which is a
flimsy, loose structure of twigs and moss lined with fine roots and hair, is built
by the female.

The female Bullfinch lays and incubates eggs that are smooth, glossy and
light blue with purplish markings at one end. The eggs are about 20 mm by 15
mm. Both parents feed the young after they have hatched.

Breeding Starts

Clutches

Eggs

Incubation (days)

Fledge (days)

April-May

1-3

4-7

12-14

12-18

Movements

British birds are chiefly resident and sedentary, but they may be joined by
Scandinavian birds in the autumn and spring.

Conservation

For many years the
Bullfinch was a red list species because the breeding population had declined by more than half
owing to a reduction in quantity and quality of woodland margins and
hedgerows and increased grazing by deer, but their numbers have recovered
(and continue to do so) and so they have been moved to the
amber list.